Eric Kuhne

Eric Robert Kuhne (September 2, 1951 – July 25, 2016) was an American-born British architect based in London. With major projects around the world, Kuhne's assignments included the Bluewater Shopping Centre in Kent completed in 1999, the largest shopping mall in Europe, and the Titanic Belfast visitor attraction in Northern Ireland which opened to the public in 2012.

Kuhne was born in San Antonio, Texas of Swiss, Czech, and Swedish heritage and grew up in the Air Force as a son to Major Robert David Kuhne and Thelma Parsons Kuhne. He moved with his sister (Dawn Elyse) and brother (Wes Parsons) from one Air Force base to another, living in San Antonio, Houston, Biloxi, Tampa, Tucson, Chicago, and El Paso, before his father retired in 1962. The family then moved to New Haven, Indiana and into civilian life.

During his childhood, his father taught him perspective drawing when he was seven years old. His parents introduced him to architecture and civil engineering through books in their library. His early employment was with a landscape architect in Fort Wayne, Indiana before beginning work as an assistant to Dr Louis G. Petro, a Civil Engineer in Fort Wayne. With Louis G Petro & Associates, between the ages of 14 and 16, he learned drafting, project management, and the fundamentals to both architecture and engineering. He worked for Cole Matson & Matott Architects in Fort Wayne in his final year of high school. Graduating from New Haven High School in 1969, he entered William Marsh Rice University in the School of Architecture. There, he completed a Bachelor of Arts Degree with majors in both Art and Architecture in 1973. Returning to Indiana, he began work for Louis Petro, who was then the head of the Fort Wayne Housing Authority, and within three months he was selected as the Midtown Architect for Mayor Ivan Lebamoff in Fort Wayne. During this time, he completed a new master plan for downtown Fort Wayne. In addition, he restored the farmer's market back to West Berry Street, designed the Courtyards Project (then called the "Alley Project") at Wayne and Calhoun Streets, and developed the initial plans for Citilights State Park (eventually to become Headwaters Park).

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